Shutting the front door behind him, Yuki slid off his shoes and set them neatly aside. He dropped his heavy backpack quickly, relieved that it was finally Friday. Getting around five hours of sleep every night just wasn't sufficient. There just wasn't enough time in the day to tutor Tohru, finish his homework, help her with hers, spend time with Tohru, and his other necessities, which involved eating, sleeping, and showering. All he wanted to do now was curl up with Tohru and take a long nap, but as soon as he had entered the house, he knew that wasn't going to happen. There was a somewhat chaotic vibe to the atmosphere.
"I'm home," he announced to Tohru and Shigure in a voice he doubted either could hear.
To his shock, Tohru's frantic voice called for him.
"Yuki-kun?" she wailed.
Vehemence coated each of her syllables, twisting her words and sending chills down his spine. He couldn't distinguish the emotions he had caught. It had the vigor of fright and anger but the soft end tone of agony and concern. Her voice stuttered towards the end before she could choke out more. The brief pause was followed quickly by a soft gasp of pain then came a loud crash. Shattering glass and a shriek forced life into his frozen legs, and soon, Yuki was flying up the stairs and tossing the door to Tohru's bedroom open.
The sight made him stumble.
Tohru lay on the ground, collapsed beside a broken glass of water. She pushed herself up weakly. The chaos swirling around in her dark eyes petrified him. He had never seen such a look across her face before. Added to that, her face was wet with beads of sweat and trails of tears. He could tell she had been crying for quite some time by the red rims encircling her swollen eyes. He stared for a second before he rushed to her side and helped her back onto her now damp bed. He patted the wet comforter quizzically, taken aback by the sweet, foreign odor.
"What happened?"
"I-I think my water broke," Tohru choked out, gesturing to her wet bed sheets.
He couldn't even let the information strike him before Tohru bent over, crying from pain again. Her face scrunched up, covering her skin with creases, and she clenched her teeth together tightly. Yuki worriedly pried her clawing fingers away from her abdomen, wrapping his hand around them and letting her squeeze his extremities instead. He could hardly continue to gaze at the agony streaked across her pale face. The anguish exuding off of her made his stomach twist until he could hardly swallow anymore, and he was simply the onlooker. Seconds later, she relaxed, panting coarsely.
"How long?" he questioned.
"I don't know…" she whispered quietly, "Before you left for school… Maybe before I went to bed…"
His eyes widened at her response. How had he not noticed her spasms of pain yesterday? Yuki didn't have time to ponder over it or how early the baby was. Tohru's body convulsed as another contraction rattled her, a fraction of a second longer than the last. The time span between them couldn't have been more than a few minutes. Too soon. He didn't even have time to curse himself for being so negligent. He was supposed to be taking care of her, yet he had left her alone for hours while she was in labor. She should have been at the hospital already. After cradling her through the torture, he raced from the room to the nearest phone. His fingers moved on their own, dialing the all too familiar number. Time ticked by horribly slow between rings before a soft click sounded.
"Hatori!" Yuki exclaimed, not bothering to wait for the doctor to even greet him, "Tohru is in labor!"
Hatori breathed heavily, a little too calmly for Yuki's tastes, "Calm down, Yuki. It's too soon. Are you sure she's not having Braxton Hicks-"
"I'm sure! Her water broke! It's different! She's having the baby!" Yuki snapped.
"I'll be over soon then," Hatori responded.
Yuki hung up half a second later and darted back to Tohru, just in time to offer her his hands as her face twisted. Her breath hitched, and she squeezed his fingers until they started turning blue. He could hardly feel them anymore, losing them to a dull numbness, but he couldn't complain. Not after all that he had read about contractions, and she had been experiencing them all day –and possibly night. When the pain finally passed and she was catching up on her oxygen supply, he reached over to her nightstand and poured her a new cup of water. As soon as she had finished drinking, he rushed out and returned with a cool, damp towel.
Gingerly, he swept the cloth across her forehead, clearing away the droplets of sweat. He barely finished wiping her face and neck before another burst of pain made her lurch forward and curl into a ball. Hesitantly, he ran his fingers through her hair and stroked her back soothingly. Finding that he was able to coax her out of her ball, he let out a sigh of relief. Her small hands slithered around his neck, and soon, he was locked tightly to her body. She was sobbing as she hugged him. Yuki let her squeeze him until he could hardly breathe without uttering a complaint.
Meanwhile, his eyes scanned the room for the suitcase he had packed for her just days ago. Mentally, he tried to recall whether he had finished packing or not. There was lotion, food, toiletries, a camera, and clothing for her, him, and the baby. He had even packed her mother's picture for her. That was a weight off his shoulders, knowing he didn't need to rush around again, but what did that little tidbit matter when he could hardly remain calm. Whatever fraying threads his sanity was clinging onto were going to break soon, but he had to try to cling onto the scraps of his tranquility for Tohru's sake.
After two more contractions, he heard a car pull into the driveway. Slipping his arms under Tohru, he lifted her into his arms, and for once, she didn't dare to protest. She just simply wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his chest. He walked to the door as quickly as he could without rocking her and somehow managed to grab the suitcase along his way. He could tell by how tense she was that she was experiencing another contraction as he carried her downstairs, but she didn't even let out a whimper.
Hatori had let himself in by the time Yuki got downstairs. He took Tohru from Yuki to let him slip shoes on himself and on Tohru. He then swapped the girl for the suitcase, allowing Yuki to bring Tohru to the backseat of the car. Tohru practically sat on Yuki the entire ride. She was too petrified to speak, not even to greet Hatori. She barely even managed to take a sip from the bottle of water Yuki held out to her. All she could do was stare at both of them with wide eyes that revealed all the terror she didn't dare to reveal out loud.
When they arrived at the hospital, Yuki had to carry her inside and hold her until a nurse got him a wheelchair for her. After Hatori checked in with the front desk, they shoved her into a room in the maternity area. There, after changing into a thin hospital gown, she was helped onto the bed. Various machines were soon attached to her body to monitor her heart rate and her child's. Tohru could recall having things shoved inside of her, but at the moment, she was too distraught to pay much attention to what anyone was doing around her or what they were checking. She heard bits and pieces of sentences and fragments like checking for ruptured membranes and infections, getting cervical and vaginal cultures, but she was hardly aware of any of it. Not even when they were spreading cold gel over her abdomen or when they were pricking her with needles.
Her eyes were locked on one thing only, and that was Yuki's face. She watched his face warp with concern as hers similarly did so out of agony. Tohru couldn't bear to watch fret distort the beautiful pools of gray in his eyes, but looking away just made it worse. It hurt to know she was hurting him. She wanted to send him to another room where he wouldn't have to watch this, but she couldn't bear to lose her support. Tohru doubted she could make it through this torturous ordeal without him. After suffering through another almost minute long contraction, she placed her hand over his cheek, trying to smoothen away the creases in vain. They'd only fade for a moment and return as soon as another contraction came.
"Honda-san," a doctor interrupted her pained thoughts, "your baby is breech. We're going to try and turn her."
"Is she going to be okay?" Tohru choked out weakly.
"Yes, yes. Of course. She'll be fine. It's just that you're quite early so she hasn't had time to turn around yet."
"Is it too early?" Tohru squeaked fretfully.
"According to your records, you've been taking corticosteroids, so both of you should be all right," he informed her with a smile.
Tohru instantly relaxed, but her eyes still held gleams of concern as their hands pressed around her abdomen. She grimaced slightly as her restless daughter tossed a rapid succession of kicks at her. Weren't the contractions enough? Tohru wanted to raise her hands and stop the doctor beside her, wishing to inform him that her baby didn't like this forced movement, but she was too ecstatic over the fact that they were even considering letting her have a normal birth. Yuki had warned her days ago that it would be unlikely with all that had happened, but her hopes hadn't died yet, but she spoke too soon.
"Honda-san, we'll be honest with you. We're not entirely sure we'll be delivering your child vaginally. You have a very petite body as it is. We're not sure it'll go smoothly, and that's without your placental issues," the doctor informed her cautiously.
Her expression dropped instantly. She glanced towards Yuki, finding a mirror of her own misery without even having to look at her reflection in his silvery eyes. He wasn't partial towards a normal birth, but she knew he just wanted her to have her way. Disheartened, she turned back towards the doctor. Now, she could see that they didn't hold much hope in their eyes; any she had seen earlier were mostly figments of her own desire. They were probably sugarcoating those words already. She knew she wasn't in the normal room for labor. The shiny metal table and bright lights overhead clearly indicated to her that they were where cesarean sections were usually performed. Had Yuki requested that they humor her for a while?
"Don't worry. We're completely ready for a C-section if it's necessary," he assured her.
Tohru nodded solemnly, peering at the scalpel on a nearby table. She couldn't even consider the pain of that before a more excruciating one tore her attention away. Wincing through a prolonged contraction, she doubted any pain could be worse than this –with the exception of actual labor and possibly what Yuki's fingers were feeling. She really wasn't sure how she'd ever manage to apologize for that later, especially since he hadn't even voiced a single grievance yet, which meant he was probably thinking and blaming himself for everything, but regardless of what she tried, she couldn't clear the painful empathy gripping his thoughts.
The doctor was staring at her expectantly when she calmed, "Epidural?"
Shaking her head fervently, she shied away from the needle he gestured towards. Natural. She wanted this as natural as possible. She watched curiously as Yuki's fair eyebrows raised and knitted together in confusion. He grazed her cheek gently with the tips of his fingers, trying to tacitly coax her into taking some pain reliever. With the exception of his hands, he wasn't experiencing any pain, yet he was tempted to snatch that needle from the nurse if only it'd relieve the mental distress he felt just from watching her torture herself.
"Are you sure, Tohru?" Yuki asked, "I'm not sure I can even bear watching."
"Stay!" she cried anxiously, afraid he'd leave.
"Of course I will… It's just that… Don't you want a little pain medication? A needle surely will hurt less than what you're going through," Yuki told her, recalling her fear of shots.
Again, Tohru simply shook her head. He sighed, extending his arms out and pulling her against his chest. Tohru flushed, burying her face in his shoulder in attempt to hide from the other two occupants of the room. She was embarrassed, yet she didn't dare to pull herself out of his warm embrace. His arms had a way of sapping her energy and gluing her against his chest. Not to mention, his hugs tended to soothe the burning sensation that scorched her insides after each contraction. Nearly inebriated by his proximity, despite the periodic interruptions of contractions, she had practically forgotten about the doctor until he spoke.
"I'll check on you again later. You're not fully dilated yet," the doctor stated.
Tohru nodded briefly before he left. She mentally kicked the physician in her mind. He had broken their embrace. Frantically, she searched for something else to distract her from labor. Turning her head to the side, she stared at the monitor to her left, taking comfort in the steady beats of her child's heart. She smiled warmly at the fuzzy image the ultrasound provided her with. That small girl she saw in there would be in her arms soon enough, she was sure, and she could hardly wait. The steady beeps of the heart monitor soothed her as she trudged through another contraction. She was waiting in vain to get used to the pain, but it only seemed to intensify with time.
An hour passed, and she was still lying here in pain, suffering through more and more contractions that were growing in length, yet shortening the intervals of peace they granted her. Her cheeks were never dry anymore, and Yuki was just about begging her outright to take some pain medication. Of course, she was stubborn, refusing to relinquish her fear that the scalpel and that the whole surgery could harm her precious child.
It was almost time anyways.
A couple of centimeters left.
Excitement washed through her, yet she was always left with dread. She wanted to see her daughter, but delivery wasn't something she was looking forward to. Tohru squeezed Yuki's hand firmly with more pressure than she had used all day without even experiencing a contraction. His eyes drifted over to her, concern tripling and darkening his usually light gray eyes. She looked down, a bit ashamed to have worried him over nothing, but he tilted her chin up with two fingers, smiling as best as he could for her. Tohru beamed back, truly happy and carefree for a moment.
The next few minutes, however, passed by in a blur to Tohru. One moment, everything was fine and the nurse was smiling at her, but nearly thirty seconds later, the room had been drowned with chaos. The monitors were going crazy with their loud, rapid shrieks, and her daughter was fidgeting harshly, as if she were in pain or fighting to escape. The doctor was back in seconds, and even without him having to say anything, Tohru began to panic. The signs were clear enough in his wide eyes as he briefly examined the ultrasound, monitors, and her abdomen. He muttered something Tohru didn't understand to the nurse nearby and she rushed off before he even spoke to Tohru.
"Your daughter seems to have gotten entangled with the umbilical cord. We're sorry, but we're going to have to start an emergency C-section now," he stated briefly.
Another woman joined them, presenting new equipment as other personal lifted her onto the frigid metal table and began stripping her. Needles flitted around the room just as a mask with a cord was presented to her. Nobody was asking for her opinion anymore. The tip of the needle couldn't have been more than a millimeter from her arm before she protested. The woman froze in the process, but Tohru could guess that she wasn't getting out of this by the way the woman remained hunched over, letting the needle hover dangerously close to her skin. Tohru's heart skipped a beat when she noticed the doctor had picked up the scalpel already and that his face was now obscured with a surgical mask.
"W-Wait!" Tohru squealed nervously.
"I know what you wanted, but that's not going to work out anymore if you wish to keep your daughter alive," the doctor muttered.
Her nervous eyes searched for Yuki. The dark shades of gray and silver didn't help sooth her anxieties much. He didn't seem much calmer than she did, despite the strong façade of certainty he tried to keep on his face. Yuki took a deep breath, managing to calm the both of them a bit as he tried to comfort her. They didn't have a second to spare. He could see that the defense behind her objections was already waning. All he'd have to do was say the right words to nudge her in the right direction. Yuki squeezed her hand reassuringly.
"Everything will be all right, Tohru. You'll see. I'm sorry it won't be the way you imagined it would be," Yuki apologized.
"I'm scared…" Tohru whimpered, ignoring the next contraction.
"Don't be. I'll be here with you, and you'll see our beautiful daughter in a few minutes," he murmured to her.
Tohru nodded uneasily, "Okay…"
As soon as the word drifted out, the mask was promptly shoved over her face and the needle was pressed into her arm. Tohru's eyes widened for a second before they began to droop. A cloudy haze almost instantly began crawling across the corners of her sight. She struggled to keep them focused on Yuki's face, but each time she blinked, the harder it got to force her eyelids back open. She could hardly feel the slight pressure from Yuki's hand around hers anymore. Tohru couldn't even feel the cool surface of the table. She wasn't even sure why she was struggling to keep awake any longer.
"Count backwards from ten," the anesthesiologist ordered her patiently.
Tohru blinked before obeying, "Ten… Nine… Eight… Seven… Six…"
Starting to lose conscious, Tohru peered over at Yuki with half open eyes, "Love you, Yuki-kun…."
"I love you too," he whispered back, but he knew she hadn't heard him. Her eyes were already shut, and her head had already tilted slightly to the side.
The doctors were quick to act, lifting her head and shoving a clear tube, which was connected to a nearby respirator, down her throat to help her breathe. The mask had been removed and now an IV was feeding the anesthetic into her bloodstream. The snap of rubber gloves made Yuki's stomach flip as the doctors dressed in surgery wear and made him wear the same papery attire. He almost hopped out of his seat and fled when the scalpel was raised towards Tohru's stomach. He couldn't watch, yet he wouldn't be able to stay away either. Sucking in a deep breath and holding it, he carefully watched as a horizontal incision was made across Tohru's lower abdomen.
Blood began to slide down her raised stomach, but none of the doctors seemed to take notice of the scarlet liquid as more cuts were made, this time through her uterus. Through the red haze, Yuki could see the gloved hands pull back at Tohru's skin and slide out a tiny head, dripping with Tohru's blood. His eyes widened as the tiny little body was lifted out of the womb, but he didn't even get a second to stare in awe before the umbilical cord was snipped, tied, and his daughter was carried away. Switching his gaze back and forth frequently, he watched as the placenta was removed from Tohru, and they began to stitch her up as his baby daughter was getting cleaned.
After suctioning clean her mouth and nose, they wrapped the newborn in a clean blanket. Yuki was ready to take his daughter from them, but they walked away from him instead. He anxiously watched as they placed the tiny being into a box like structure on a stand with four wheels. A switch was hit and the machine made a soft whir. He finally understood what it was. A radiant warmer. He had read about those. Yuki couldn't make much of this information before he turned his attention back to Tohru. He tightened his grip around her hand as the IV bag was switched, trading a clear liquid for a bag of blood. The tube was pulled out of her mouth. Everyone seemed calm, but Yuki couldn't tear his eyes away from the monitors hooked up to Tohru, concentrating on the soft beep that signaled her heartbeat.
"She'll wake up in a couple of hours," the woman beside him informed him.
Yuki nodded, but he wasn't particularly listening to any of her assurances. His focus was concentrated on Tohru and the baby. That was a lot of blood they were clearing off of Tohru. He was sure the doctors noted the concern etched into his face and were probably explaining to him that Tohru would be fine, but he wasn't listening to whatever they had to say. His eyes followed the hospital staff as they hurriedly took his daughter out of the room. He stood up abruptly, extending his arm out to stop the doctors, but the nurse beside him gently shoved him back into his seat.
"Your daughter is having difficulty keeping warm by herself. The incubator was supposed to help, but they're worried. You can tell by how thin she is, and you must have noticed how her skin was almost translucent. She has so little fat now. So we decided to take her to the NICU, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit," the nurse explained.
Yuki peered at her worriedly, "Is she going to be all right?"
"Yes, she should be. This usually isn't a fatal problem," she assured him.
Yuki let out a sigh of relief and turned his attention back to Tohru. He watched as a stretcher was rolled into the room and as Tohru was carefully lifted onto it. Yuki stood and followed the two hospital assistants as they brought Tohru to an empty room down the hallway. She was carefully laid on the white bed as the equipment was arranged around her bedside. Yuki grabbed a nearby chair and sat there beside her bedside, clutching her hands for the next two hours it took until Tohru opened her eyes.
Tohru's eyes slowly opened, fluttering shut and open weakly. Yuki gasped quietly, gazing at her in disbelief. Disoriented, Tohru blinked her eyes, peering around. Letting the fuzzy image before her clear, Tohru tried to organize her incoherent thoughts. The anesthetic had left her mind in a jumbled mess. Shifting her head towards her left, she spotted Yuki, and then everything clicked. She had just had her baby! Her eyes doubled in size as she searched frantically around the room until her eyes settled upon a clock. She froze and stared at the digits. It was late, and her baby was nowhere in sight.
"Where's my baby?" Tohru murmured softly.
Rubbing her eyes and trying to ignore the throb in her stomach and the ache in her throat, Tohru tried to sit up, but Yuki gently pressed her back down and fixed the covers around her. Tohru peered over his shoulder, searching for the whereabouts of her missing child, but she was confronted by a bland wall. She couldn't even hear the faintest lingers of a cry. Quizzically, her eyebrows furrowed as her fingers drifted across her abdomen, checking to see whether she truly had given birth or not. Finding her stomach flat, Tohru began to assume the worse, but before her mind could toss two many gore filled delusions at her, Yuki cut in.
"She's fine…" he assured her, seeming to read her mind.
"Where is she?" Tohru repeated her question firmly, "I want to see her."
"She's um…" Yuki hesitated, not wanting to concern Tohru.
"Is she okay? She's still alive, isn't she?" Tohru squeaked frantically.
"Yes, yes," Yuki reassured her promptly, "She's just in the baby emergency room at the moment."
"Why?" Tohru screeched.
Tohru shot up in her bed, stiffer and more alarmed than she had been four hours ago when he had found her in labor. She almost looked hysterical with those tears brimming in her large eyes. He could tell she was overreacting by the speed of her breaths. In vain, he attempted to calm her down, but no matter what he said, she couldn't be consoled. Promises that she would be fine flew right through her ears, and he might as well have been quoting the nurses and doctors to the walls for the good it did. She refused to believe anything he said.
Before another dark thought could pass through Tohru's head, Yuki interjected, "Would you like to go see her now?"
She silenced, mainly out of shock. It took her a moment to react, but Tohru nodded eagerly, a bit too quickly. She clutched her head as the room began to whirl around. Her cheeks darkened as Yuki pressed her head against his chest and kissed her hair. Suddenly, her head didn't seem to be spinning around as much anymore. Her heart, however, was a complete other matter. She struggled to stand, but flinched when she noticed the wires still hooked up to her body. The nurse who had been standing on the other side of her bed smiled at her as she began to remove the equipment.
"It's just a precaution. We had to make sure your body was doing all right," she explained.
Tohru looked away as the nurse slid out the IV and unattached the wires. She shuddered when she noticed the empty clear bag covered with specks of dark red liquid. Having already been afraid of glancing under her shirt at the scar she had felt earlier, she was definitely not going to be lifting her shirt any time soon. Her scar looked massive enough with the thin cotton hospital gown she was wearing covering it. Speaking of her surgery, she couldn't help remembering that Yuki had been in the room the entire time. He had seen her naked. Completely naked and sprawled across a table like poultry. Her cheeks had never darkened so quickly before, and they darkened to an extent that made both Yuki and the nurse concerned about her.
"Are you feeling okay, Tohru? We can go later if you're not feeling up to it," Yuki suggested.
"I'd advise some walking, but if you're tired, I can get you a wheelchair," the nurse offered.
Tohru declined both of them with a smile and hopped to her feet lightly. Yuki had her arm gripped in his hands as soon as she was on her feet, helping her keep steady. She wished to tell him his help wasn't necessary, but she too was afraid she'd fall over if he let go, so she let him lead and support her out of the room and down the corridor. Glancing around curiously, she watched as mothers whizzed by in their stretchers and as others calmly were walking away with an infant cradled in their arms. Of course, they all stared at her, wondering why she was here. Even the mother about to give birth gawked.
She was young, but it wasn't their business.
For the rest of their short journey, she kept her eyes on the matching hospital bands that had been placed around her and Yuki's wrists. Yuki paused before a door, and if he hadn't been holding onto her, she would have walked straight into the glass, but she didn't even seem to have noticed the danger. Excitedly, she peered through the glass, staring at the single bed in the dimly lit room and the tiny being resting inside of it. She could hardly contain herself enough to wash her hands in the sink by the door before rushing over. The first thing she noticed were the small stickers over the little body and the tape around her fingers.
The woman in the room set down the chart she was holding and walked over to Tohru immediately.
"You're the mother, I suppose," the woman smiled.
Tohru nodded before peering back down at her daughter apprehensively.
"Don't worry. She's going to be just fine. Those are just for us to be able to see how she's doing," the doctor explained.
"Then can I hold her?" Tohru inquired hopefully.
"Of course."
Tohru gingerly reached forward, brushing her fingers against the pale, silky smooth skin for a moment before sliding one of her hands under the infant's back. The puny back was the length of Tohru's thumb to her pinky. The child was so small. Tohru lifted her up carefully, holding her breath as the little being began to stir. Tiny hands that couldn't have been longer than any of her fingers grasped her shirt. Tohru didn't even notice when the woman in the room stepped out to give her privacy or when her arms began to shake. It was only when Yuki's arms slid around hers and she was coaxed into a nearby chair that she realized how weak she felt. She couldn't manage to set the child down though. Her daughter was smiling, and it was too beautiful a sight to tear her eyes from.
"She's gorgeous…" Tohru breathed happily, "Have you ever seen someone so beautiful?"
"Why yes… I actually have…" Yuki grinned, "She looks just like someone I know and love very much."
Tohru peered at him quizzically, missing his unvoiced message until Yuki had pressed his lips to her cheek. He managed to light her face on fire and paint her skin scarlet within seconds, making her turn her head back down to the squirming infant, but that didn't help. He kept his chin propped on her shoulder and his cheek against her warm one, which simply fueled her blush.
"She is quite lovely, isn't she?" Yuki breathed.
She nodded, gasping when tired eyelids fluttered open. Small, light gray eyes darkened with specks of lilac greeted her. They shut within a minute, but Tohru couldn't forget those mesmerizing eyes. They were Yuki's eyes, the most breathtaking eyes she knew. She openly gaped, staring in bewilderment at the tiny face. She glanced up at Yuki quickly, confirming that he had actually seen those eyes before returning to her cooing and staring. Brushing the tips of her fingers against her pudgy cheeks, Tohru managed to bring about another smile from the little cherub. Tohru couldn't help but let out a sigh of contentment as she embraced her smiling angel.
"Emi-chan," Tohru murmured after a moment of consideration.
"Hmm?"
"Emi-chan… I want to name her Emi. Look at her smile… It's stunning," she whispered.
Yuki grinned and pecked her on her still flushed cheek, a gesture Tohru took as his agreement over the name. Tohru giggled, grinning when Emi made a gurgling sound and battered her eyelashes a couple of times happily, other signs Tohru took as a positive reaction. Yuki chuckled softly and stroked the thin, brown fuzz coating Emi's head. Matching eyes locked as Emi gazed back up at Yuki. She stared for a moment before yawning and leaning her head back against Tohru's chest. Tohru cradled the infant carefully, surprised at how quickly she had fallen asleep again.
Watching Tohru with eyes full of admiration, Yuki wrapped his arms around her thin shoulders. Gingerly, he pressed his lips to the top of her head. He only beamed in response when she turned her head towards him with a puzzled expression. He didn't see how anyone could have doubted Tohru's maternal side. She would be perfect. He couldn't help envying her for her natural talent. Yuki could tell that Emi would already be a major contender for Tohru's heart. Even now, the tiny fists still clutched Tohru's shirt.
"You did an amazing job," Yuki smiled.
"Amazing job? I didn't do anything," Tohru murmured in a disappointed voice.
"Are you kidding me? You carried a baby in your womb for eight months! You call that nothing?" Yuki breathed in shock, "Tohru, you carried a beautiful child for almost a year. That deserves some credit."
Tohru didn't respond, only partially believing him and partly too enthralled by her daughter to be able to focus too much on her desire for a natural birth. She wanted to hold her forever, but her trembling arms seemed to disagree with her. Yuki's arms tightened around Tohru keeping her grip around their newly named daughter firm.
"I think it's time for you to rest," Yuki pointed out.
"B-But!" Tohru argued.
"She'll still be here when you wake up," Yuki chuckled when he noticed the terror in Tohru's eyes.
Tohru took one last glance at her slumbering daughter before she reluctantly placed her back into the incubator and tucked her under the miniature blanket. She let Yuki help her back up, leaning against him as he practically carried her back to her room. Her eyes had shut by the time he was laying her on the bed and pulling the thick white covers over her, but before he could retreat, her hand caught hold of his shirt. He froze in his steps and peered back at her questioningly. Tohru propped her eyes open wearily, fighting to stay awake at this point.
"Are you going to stay?" she mumbled tiredly.
"If you want me to," he laughed.
"I do," she admitted shyly, unable to hide the evident blush creeping onto her cheeks.
He smiled, "All right then. I'd be happy to stay."
"Thank you, Yuki-kun," Tohru beamed.
"Glad to be at your service."
He chuckled at the glowing, red tint across her face. Delicately, he brushed his fingers against her cheek, laughing at the warmth it caused before he pressed his lips lightly to her forehead. Tohru lifted her hand to her face embarrassedly, humiliated by the fire burning the patch of skin where his lips had just been. For someone who had needed a blood transfusion hours ago, she still seemed to have a superfluous amount in her face. Flipping onto her side, she tried to bury her face in her pillow to hide her tainted cheeks, but he just watched with amused eyes that further tinted her skin.
"Goodnight, Tohru," he murmured soothingly.
"Goodnight," she replied a bit nervously.
"Don't worry. I'll stay right here until you fall asleep," Yuki assured her, taking her hands into his.
She smiled and gripped his hand tightly. He only had to hold her hand for a minute before her eyes slid shut and she fell asleep. Yuki continued to sit there regardless, for about an hour before he stood up, turned off the bedside lamp and slid into the unoccupied bed he presumed was reserved for him on the other side of the room.
Ten hours later, Tohru awoke to muted shuffling and gentle murmurs. Tiredly, she struggled to force her eyes open. Blinking furiously to get her eyes to adjust to the bright sunlight streaming through the windows in her room, she gazed around quizzically. Her eyes settled upon Yuki, who was seated in the corner of the room with a little bundle resting on his lap. She watched a thin, five inch long arm reach up and tug at his shirt. Tohru grinned as she watched Yuki's lips curve upwards. It was then that he noticed the crinkling of her bed sheets and glanced up. Noticing that she was awake, Yuki stood with a wider smile than before and walked over to her.
Happily, she took the newborn into her arms, giggling when the tiny fist wouldn't release Yuki's shirt. He leaned uncomfortably over her, trying not to be in her way while trying not to be too rough with the one day old. It took him a few minutes to wrestle out of the position and get the small fingers to wrap around his finger instead. When he pulled away, a light flush marred his pale skin as he stood straight up beside Tohru. She laughed, even more delighted when wide lilac gray eyes followed Yuki's movements.
"Hey… Tohru?" Yuki started uneasily.
"Yes?"
"I umm… I was wondering whether… Um… I mean I wanted to ask you if you'd like to… Would you mind… Would you consider moving in with me?" he blurted out.
"But I already live with you?" she voiced her statement as a question.
"Not like that. I mean without Kyo or Shigure… I know you've been worried that our daughter, Emi, would bother Kyo and Shigure when she cries at night, and I don't exactly want Shigure to come within a ten foot radius of her… So I thought it might be more convenient if we had our own place," Yuki stammered awkwardly.
"I-I wouldn't want you to waste money on a h-house! And you'd have to look for something and move everything, and that's so much work!" Tohru exclaimed as coherently as she could.
"You don't have to worry about that…. I hope it doesn't seem presumptuous of me, but I kind of found a place already and sort of arranged to have things moved there today… But I mean if you'd rather not, I can cancel it all," Yuki added in quickly.
Tohru felt her heart give an unhealthy lurch as her mind replayed his words countless times. It stuttered, nearly stopping before shuddering back to life. Her cheeks darkened to alarming shades of red as her heart raced ahead with loud thumps she was sure the occupant of the room across the hall could hear. She was glad her daughter was seated on her lap; for she was sure she would have dropped her by know if she were standing. Tohru was already shaking more than she had been last night, a signal Yuki took to alert him of her anxiety rather than excitement.
"Tohru…?" Yuki started worriedly, "Are you okay? You can decline if you wish. I won't be upset. Promise."
"No! I-I would like that very much!" Tohru squeaked timidly.
"Really?"
She nodded slightly, her flush deepening by the second. Tohru couldn't even look at him for more than a few seconds before she had to turn away in embarrassment, but that short interval was enough for her to notice how his eyes lit up with joy. It didn't matter that she turned away, for within seconds, she was encircled in his arms and pressed against his chest. Suddenly, it didn't even matter that her abdomen was throbbing or that the butterflies in her stomach were starting to make her queasy or that he could probably feel the erratic beats of her heart right now. All that mattered was that he was hugging her, but it really should have been illegal to still smell this good after spending the night in a place that reeked of sterilizer and medicine.
"Are you sure?" he murmured.
"Yes!" Tohru exclaimed happily.
A grin spread across his face as he planted a kiss on top of her head. He laughed when the small bundle on Tohru's lap squeaked and reached for him again. Yuki bent over and pressed his lips gently to the top of the child's head too. Emi waved her hands around cheerfully, unintentionally slapping Yuki in the face with her flailing. He retreated with his nose enclosed in his hands but chuckled lightly to keep Tohru from fretting unnecessarily. She had to check his nose anyways before worrying over Emi as she remembered the room Emi had been in last night.
"Is it okay for her to be here?" Tohru asked.
"Of course. She wouldn't be here if she weren't. The doctor said she's doing really well actually, and she's probably going to be able to leave before you," Yuki assured her.
"When do I get to leave?" Tohru asked.
"A few days," Yuki responded promptly.
"Why? That's a lot of money," Tohru stated worriedly.
"Tohru, you just gave birth and had surgery. Of course they're going to want to keep you here a bit longer. Don't you dare worry about money. You're not allowed to think about the bill, okay? Just focus on getting better, please," Yuki requested.
"B-But!" Tohru tried to protest but Yuki's finger on her lips silenced her.
"Your health and wellbeing are much more important than money. That's final."
Tohru's arguments were silenced when the door opened and her friends rushed in excitedly. She jumped up slightly in disbelief as she stared at her two friends. Uo practically darted over, gazing at the infant with wide eyes while Hana calmly strode over after shutting the door. Tohru lowered the bundle gently, proudly showing them her daughter while Emi blinked in confusion at the two new people she had never seen before. She silenced down and began to squirm as two new pairs of hands fondled every inch of her skin that wasn't covered by the blanket.
"Adorable. Plain adorable…." Uo crooned as she stroked the top of Emi's head.
"Yes… What did you expect?" Hana calmly asked.
"In a couple of years, guys are gonna be all over her," Uo snickered to herself.
Tohru's eyes widened at that as she clutched her daughter closer to her.
"Perhaps she'll go to an all girls' school," Yuki mused thoughtfully.
Uo rolled her eyes before holding her arms out to Tohru to hold the baby, but Hana had already taken the bundle from Tohru. Uo grimaced momentarily before leaning over and gazing at the child with a warm smile. Emi peered at Hana for a few seconds before her faint eyebrows furrowed, and she reached back to Tohru, about to wail. Uo snickered as she slid the child out of Hana's arms, comforting the infant gently in a very uncharacteristic manner. The wrinkles on Emi's face smoothened away, but her frail arms were still extended in Tohru's direction just as her eyes never seemed to move away from Tohru's face.
"She looks just like you, Tohru," Uo commented, following Emi's gaze towards Tohru.
"Really? Yuki-kun thinks so too, but I think Emi-chan looks more like Yuki-kun," Tohru murmured.
"Emi-chan, eh? Well, whatever. She's just pretty. Like a little angel," Uo concluded.
Tohru smiled and nodded, agreeing easily. Uo and Hana took turns holding the newborn for a few minutes before they returned her to her mother, who seemed anxious to hold her again. Emi seemed just as relieved to be back in her mother's arms, immediately latching her tiny hands onto Tohru's fingers. Tohru grinned, cuddling her daughter as Emi began to close her eyes and drift back to sleep again. It wasn't long, however, before the door swung open again, and Shigure and Ayame came in, awaking the previously slumbering baby.
"Alas! The long awaited uncle has arrived to lay his eyes upon his newly arrived niece, the daughter of the brother he adores so much. Fear not little brother, my presence is finally here. I would have come running had Gure taken less time getting ready. I would have flown here with my wings of love as soon as I got your call! Forgive me, dearest brother," Ayame babbled dramatically.
"I. Never. Called. You. Get out," Yuki groaned.
Ayame ignored him as he swept the baby out of Tohru's arms, only to have her snatched away five seconds later by Yuki. Yuki returned the whimpering child back to Tohru before the bawling could begin. Ayame gazed on with an almost offended expression with his mouth wide open. He gave a short humph and walked over to Tohru to get a view of the child before Yuki found something to shove in his gaping mouth. Shigure also made his way over with waltz like movements before pausing by Tohru as far away as he could be from Yuki and that lamp he was now clutching like a club.
"Is it breastfeeding time?" Shigure sang gleefully.
"In your dreams. If it were, you'd be tied to a tree five miles from here," Yuki grumbled.
"It's always breastfeeding time in my dreams," Shigure chuckled lewdly.
"Drop dead, Shigure. Die before I murder you and use your corpse as fertilizer," Yuki growled.
Shigure smiled slyly, but he didn't get in another comment before a tan fist landed on his head. Kyo sauntered in with a scowl as Shigure whimpered and cowered by the door. The orange haired teenager strolled over with the best indifferent face he could muster up as he scrutinized the tiny being grasping Tohru's hair. Keeping his eyes focused on Emi's chubby face, Kyo tried to ignore Yuki, who was perched on the corner of Tohru's bed, to no avail. The child looked just like his silver haired nemesis, and it didn't help that Ayame was standing in front of him either. Glancing up at Tohru's expectant face, Kyo rummaged through his head for some kind comment he could make.
"She's so puny…" Kyo finally muttered.
"Of course! She's a baby, Kyo-kun," Tohru giggled.
Kyo shifted awkwardly with a curt nod, averting his gaze from the baby.
"Would you like to hold her?" Tohru offered.
Kyo blinked in astonishment, shifting his gaze from Emi back to Tohru in disbelief. Unable to decline her offer as she peered at him so buoyantly, Kyo awkwardly held his arms out for the child. Tohru laughed lightly as she laid Emi in his arms and fixed how they were positioned. Stiffly, he held the child, seeming to have a staring contest with her. At this Uo couldn't help but taunt him, embarrassing him enough that he promptly returned Emi to Tohru and stalked out of the room, fighting every urge to yell. For the next hour, Emi was rotated around the family until Yuki interrupted.
"I've got to get her back to the NICU before that lady lectures me again," Yuki grumbled.
"If you can't put up with her bickering for a few minutes, I have no idea what you're going to do when you're married. We want to spend more time with this cutie pie," Uo protested, stroking Emi's arm happily.
"You want to listen to an hour long lecture about abstinence and different forms of contraception from a nurse that has to be around six hundred and two?" Yuki asked, "Besides, Emi is trying to sleep, and you guys keep waking her up. She's about two seconds away from wailing."
As if on cue, screeching erupted from the tiny being. Tohru gasped while everyone else stared at the infant, seemingly shocked that such a small baby could produce such cacophony. Haru, who was currently holding her at the moment, plopped her into Yuki's arms and gave him a light pat on the back. Yuki rolled his eyes before standing and leaving, trying to soothe the girl to no avail. Tohru gazed after him worriedly, wanting to comfort her daughter but at the same time wanting to keep her here longer. She wasn't ready to part with her yet, but Uo distracted her soon enough.
"So what were you all blushy blushy about when we came in, Tohru? Huh?" Uo asked with a mischievous grin.
"W-What?" Tohru squeaked.
"Oh you know… What were you guys talking about, huh?" Uo pressed curiously.
"I bet I know! Yuki is more like me than he's willing to admit, eh, Tohru-chan?" Shigure chuckled.
"No! I-It's not like that!" Tohru exclaimed embarrassedly, "Yuki-kun just wanted to know if I wanted to move in with him!"
Everyone in the room froze and faced her with wide eyes and open mouths, making Tohru's blush deepen. Tohru shut her mouth abruptly, sinking back into her pillows in attempt to disappear. They all were gawking at her strangely before gazing at each other to make sure that they had all actually heard that. Timidly, she tugged the blanket to her chin and averted their eyes. Nobody felt the need to question Tohru about her response. Her blush made her answer obvious. Though Uo already had a lecture in store for Yuki, she embraced Tohru tightly with a wide grin.
"My little brother is all grown up! How time passes before these old eyes of mine!" Ayame cried.
"Yuki is more like me than I've ever imagined!" Shigure sang with a laugh.
"Damn rat… Where'd he go? I gotta go wring his neck now!" Kyo roared, stepping back into the room angrily.
"No, no, no! Not like that!" Tohru denied and tried to clarify the situation in vain, "I don't want Emi's cries to bother Kyo-kun or Shigure-san!"
Nobody bothered to listen to her protests though. Flustered, Tohru waved her arms around, still trying to deny what everyone was clearly thinking, but hardly anyone even seemed to notice. Hana was quietly forming plans to drop in unexpectedly every few days, Ayame was loudly telling everyone his vision for how the house would look inside as well his idea to make Tohru a new outfit, an idea Shigure took a liking too. Tohru was already tempted to flee the room and find Yuki, but Shigure had already taken her hands into his with a fatherly, yet extremely perverted, expression across his face.
"Tohru-chan, you mustn't forget to use protection," Shigure advised seriously.
"Shigure-san, you're completely right!" Tohru agreed with a shocked expression
Shigure's face twisted with shock, all traces of teasing now replaced by bewilderment.
"I forgot that we have to baby-proof the house! Oh no!" Tohru exclaimed, oblivious of what Shigure really was trying to say.
Tohru cocked her head to the side in a confused manner as everyone else's head dropped. Their desire to tease the couple had all but vanished by the time a very puzzled Yuki walked into the room. He glanced at all the disheartened occupants of the room before locking eyes with Tohru, but she had no explanation other than a shrug and a worried expression to offer him.
"I don't want to get pushed out on a wheelchair!" Tohru cried, eyeing the wheelchair Yuki was standing behind with disdain.
"It's the rule, Tohru. Come on, please?" Yuki begged.
"I want to walk!" Tohru exclaimed.
"You can walk once we get out of the hospital," Yuki promised.
Tohru shifted on the edge of the hospital bed uncomfortably, chewing on the bottom of her lip apprehensively. She scrutinized the wheelchair with disdain. They'd get enough attention as it was with the baby and their youth.
"Tohru, it's going to take five minutes to get out of here. Please… Before I carry you out," Yuki warned.
She gasped and hopped on immediately, holding Emi carefully against her chest as she eyed Yuki with a small pout to her lip. Yuki shook his head with a laugh as he began to push her out of the room, lugging behind him all the gifts everyone had presented to Tohru and Emi. He had at least five bags in his right hand, a dozen balloons tied to his left, and a couple of life-sized stuffed animals tucked under his arms. And Tohru was worried the wheelchair would draw people's attention. It took five minutes of struggling to get everything into the puny elevator, and even then, two of the light pink colored balloons popped. Yuki sighed, trying his best to ignore the little boy and his grandmother who were peering at him and Tohru strangely.
As soon as the bell rung, signaling their arrival to the main floor of the hospital, Yuki nearly darted out, knowing Tohru was just as uncomfortable as he was, if not more so. They were out of the hospital within seconds and seated in the backseat of Hatori's car in another minute with Emi strapped to the baby seat in between them.
Tohru stared out the window the entire car ride, eager to see their new home. The journey didn't take more than a few minutes, and after passing Shigure's house, they soon arrived at an old fashioned two story house designed similarly to Shigure's. Tohru nearly leapt out of the car after she had unbuckled Emi. Yuki chuckled, pleased with her excitement as he slid out and thanked Hatori for the ride.
He grinned as he walked at a pace that seemed torturously slow for Tohru. Yuki almost seemed nervous as he caught up with her and unlocked the door. As soon as the door was open, she bolted in and was exploring before he had even set down the bags he was holding. Yuki chuckled, watching her run through the house quicker than he had ever seen her move before. She was in and out of her room, his room, the kitchen, living room, the dining room, and both of the bathrooms before he had moved more than a foot from the door. She finally stopped inside of the nursery, standing at the doorway with a content smile across her face.
Yuki approached her curiously, following her gaze and finding her eyes locked on the light silver colored stuffed mouse that sat inside of the crib he had made for her with the mobile from Rin hanging overhead. The furniture was all a matching white with pale pink flowers engraved around the edges, and everything sat on a round pink rug.
Nothing could have been more perfect, except for maybe the picture frames aligning the walls, all of them waiting to be filled with the camera sitting on top of the dresser. Placing Emi into Yuki's arms, Tohru picked up the camera with a giggle and snapped a photo before Yuki could react. Sure, he wasn't smiling, and he probably was blinking when she had taken the picture, but she had already decided that that would be the first picture that would adorn the wall. Yuki, on the other hand, had other ideas and wrestled the camera from her, stealing ten pictures of her and Emi before she could even say his name.
They'd definitely need to buy more picture frames.…